The disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This invention generally relates to the field of work vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel work vehicle cab compartment, configured to provide safe, convenient, and ample access to under-cab components.
Work vehicles, such as industrial tractors used in construction, excavation, mining, and forestry, typically include a frame supported by the wheels or tracks of the tractor. The frame carries various components of the tractor, such as the engine, transmission, and drive system components, and various working attachments, such as end-loaders, back-hoes, tree-felling heads, grappling devices, or winches are attached to the frame. An operator""s cab is situated atop the frame for affording the operator an elevated field of view, and is therefore disposed above a number of the mechanical components mounted within the frame.
The conventional means for providing access to the under-the-cab mechanical components for maintenance, cleaning, or trouble-shooting, is to provide a cab assembly that is pivotally attached to the frame so as to be able to pivot with respect thereto. With the cab tilted with respect to the frame, below-the-cab components then become accessible for cleaning, maintenance, and the like. Tilting of the cab, however, presents a number of disadvantages which make this feature less than ideal for achieving its intended purpose of providing access to under-the-cab components.
In order to be able to tilt the cab with respect to the frame, it is often necessary to disconnect connections between cab components and frame-mounted components, such as electrical wires and hydraulic control lines. Disconnecting, and subsequently reconnecting the lines, is in itself an extra task which requires additional time and effort for the cab tilting procedure, but there is also the possibility that connectors can be damaged or improperly reconnected or that reconnections can be forgotten altogether.
Certain tractors, such as forestry tractors, must be certified so as to withstand rollovers or objects falling onto the cab. Testing equipment mounted on the cab and frame necessary for such certifications must be disconnected so as to permit the cab to be tilted with respect to the frame, thereby creating potential difficulties in maintaining the required certification.
Industrial tractors typically encounter a great deal of wear and tear, which is inherent in the severe working environment in which such tractors are typically operated. This wear and tear can cause the cab tilt apparatus to malfunction, thereby preventing the cab from tilting away from the frame and/or preventing a tilted cab from again closing down onto the frame. This is especially a problem for the cab of a tractor that has been rolled, in which case it is very unlikely that the cab-tilt feature will thereafter operate properly.
Because of the size of the cab and the relatively high center of gravity relative to the frame, the cab cannot be tilted too far away from the frame. This limitation is due, in part, to the fact that tilting the cab too far may result in the instability of the tractor. Moreover, there may be space constraints, which limit the extent to which the cab can be extended away from the main frame, especially where maintenance and repairs are performed in an indoor maintenance facility. Consequently, the amount of access actually provided to the under-cab components by tilting the cab is relatively small.
As such, for any or all of the above reasons, many tractor owners simply do not or cannot use the cab-tilt feature of their tractor in order to gain access to under-cab components. Typically tractor owners are forced to gain access to such components by removing exterior side panels of the tractor body and/or from beneath the tractor, where possible. Therefore, what is needed is a work vehicle cab compartment, which is capable of providing safe, convenient, and ample access to under-cab components.
Work vehicles, designed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, address the need identified above by providing a novel work vehicle cab compartment that is configured to provide safe, convenient, and ample access to under-cab components.
In one aspect of the present invention, a work vehicle cab compartment configuration is presented, which is fixedly mounted onto a work vehicle frame. The cab compartment includes a cab footing structure secured to the work vehicle frame and a pivoting floor structure. The pivoting floor structure includes a raised central portion and flange portions, which partially define the floor of the cab compartment. One of the flanged portions mechanically fastened to the cab footing structure while another flange portion is hingedly coupled to a mounting structure that is secured to the cab footing structure. The pivoting floor structure is pivotally moveable in an outwardly direction to expose, and provide access to; vehicle components disposed under the cab compartment while the cab compartment remains fixedly mounted to the work vehicle frame.
In another aspect of the present invention, a pivoting seat assembly is provided, which includes an operators seat attached atop a seat suspension. The seat suspension is mounted to the pivoting floor structure. The pivoting seat assembly is configured to move in cooperation with the pivoting floor structure, when the pivoting floor structure is pivotally moved in an outwardly direction.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the pivoting floor structure and the pivoting seat assembly are actuated to pivotally move in an outwardly direction by releasing a mechanical fastener secured to one of the flange portions and pulling the pivoting seat assembly in a direction defined by a hinged coupling of one of the flange portions to the cab footing structure. Moreover, the pivoting seat assembly is configured to allow the flange portions of the pivoting floor structure to achieve at least a 90xc2x0 angle relative to the cab footing structure, when the pivoting floor structure and the pivoting seat assembly are moved in an outwardly direction.